Saint Mary's upsets Division I foe
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
By 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, fans outside of Angela Athletic facility were huddled together to keep warm as the temperature kept dropping. But the fans couldn't get any closer than the tennis match between Saint Mary's and Division I foe Valparaiso.
Ultimately, it was depth that brought the Belles to a 5-4 victory. Although Valparaiso claimed No. 1 and No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles, the Belles hung onto Nos. 4-6 singles and No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to claim the victory.
"Our depth [was our greatest asset]," head coach Dee Stevenson said. "We knew they had good players up top, but we had more depth down the line."
Freshman Kris Spriggle's match would serve as a good analogy for this nail-biter between Saint Mary's and Valparaiso. Spriggle faced off against Sarah Engelbert in No. 5 singles and played for over two hours.
Spriggle claimed a straightforward 6-3 victory in the first set. Then Engelbert stepped up the play and it was a trial to the end.
"She started playing more consistently and pushing me to my limit," Spriggle said. "I had to regroup."
After Spriggle dropped the second set 3-6, she was playing on shaky ground and shaky footing. During the match, two blisters had opened on Spriggle's foot, leaving her feet feeling a little tender.
"[The blisters] started to affect me when I got down on myself," Spriggle said. "If I forgot them then I could go on playing."
With twilight falling, a back and forth third set resulted in a 6-6 tie that called for a tiebreaker. Spriggle claimed the tiebreaker 8-6 to clinch her match and a Saint Mary's victory.
"I kept telling myself that I could win the set and I wanted to win it and my team needed me," Spriggle said. Her team certainly did. Annie Knish and Natalie Cook faced off against the worst competition
Valaparaiso could throw at them — Kate Kollarova and Mara Sonking — in No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Both women dropped their matches 0-2, 6-0, 0-6 and 1-6, 2-6 respectively.
"[Kollarova] was really consistent and made some good angle shots," Knish said. "She didn't make any mistakes at all."
Coming into the match, Knish was expecting tough competition. Kollarova, who hails from the Czech Republic, has sported an impressive record her freshman season.
"I knew a little background about her; she has an impressive record," Knish said. "I went into the match thinking that I had nothing to lose."
Knish and Cook faced off against Kollarova and Sonkin again in No. 1 doubles and won a good game before dropping the match 8-1.
Freshman Jeanie Knish also had a close call. She fought back from a 1-4 deficit to win her first set in No. 3 singles 7-5. However, she dropped her next two matches to Patricia Arakaki 2-6, 2-6.
But Knish teamed up with Kaitlin Cutler, who won her No. 4 singles match easily 6-0, 6-0, to defeat Arakaki in No. 2 doubles. They won the match 8-3. Sophomore Elisa Ryan claimed No. 6 singles 6-2, 6-0, and then teamed up with Trisha Jones to win No. 3 doubles 8-5.
"I would say our doubles pulled it out," Stevenson said. "We have good doubles teams."
The Belles will play a doubleheader this weekend against Adrian College at 9 a.m. and Aquinas College at 4 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 29, 2001
